Image & Video SEO

Image and video results are search surfaces of their own - image packs, video carousels, key-moment deep links - and for some niches (recipes, fashion, tutorials, repair) they out-deliver the blue links. This guide treats media as first-class search content rather than page decoration.

Image SEO#

The signals engines read#

Engines can't fully "see" images; they rank them by surrounding evidence:

Signal	Optimization
Alt text	Describe the image accurately and specifically; include the keyword only when it genuinely describes the image
Filename	`espresso-grind-size-chart.webp`, not `IMG_4302.jpg`
Surrounding text	Captions and adjacent paragraphs anchor the image's meaning
Page context	Images rank with help from the page's own relevance and authority
Structured data	`ImageObject` in Article/Product/Recipe markup feeds rich results

A fully-optimized image

<figure>
  <img
    src="/images/espresso-grind-size-chart.webp"
    alt="Chart comparing espresso extraction yield across five grind sizes"
    width="1200"
    height="675"
    loading="lazy"
  />
  <figcaption>Finer grinds extract faster - until they channel.</figcaption>
</figure>

Technical delivery#

Performance is ranking-relevant (Core Web Vitals) and indexing-relevant:

Modern formats (WebP/AVIF) with responsive srcset - Next.js <Image> automates both
Lazy-load below the fold only - never the LCP/hero image
Stable URLs: re-uploading images to new URLs resets their accumulated image-search equity
Image sitemaps (or images in your regular sitemap) help discovery for image-heavy sites
Don't block image CDNs/paths in robots.txt - blocked images can't rank

Video SEO#

Where video ranks#

Video appears in main-SERP carousels, the Videos tab, key-moment deep links, and - overwhelmingly - YouTube itself, the second-largest search engine. Strategy differs by goal: YouTube rankings build audience; self-hosted video pages capture site traffic. Many teams do both: YouTube for reach, embedded on their own optimized page for site value.

On-page requirements#

For video on your own pages:

VideoObject JSON-LD

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "VideoObject",
  "name": "How to read a waterfall chart in DevTools",
  "description": "A 6-minute walkthrough of network waterfalls…",
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://example.com/thumbs/waterfall.jpg",
  "uploadDate": "2026-04-12",
  "duration": "PT6M14S",
  "contentUrl": "https://example.com/videos/waterfall.mp4"
}
</script>

One video per page, prominent (above the fold) - buried videos rarely earn video results
A transcript on the page - the single highest-value addition: it's indexable text the video alone isn't, it's accessibility, and it's quotable for AEO/GEO
Clip/SeekToAction markup (or YouTube chapters) enables key moments - deep links into the timestamp answering the query

YouTube optimization basics#

Title front-loads the keyword promise; description's first two lines carry the pitch (they show before "more"); chapters segment the content; a custom thumbnail wins the click. YouTube ranking weighs engagement (watch time, CTR) above metadata - the content quality bar is the real lever, same as everywhere else in search.

Measuring media performance#

Search Console → Performance → Search appearance: filter "Videos" and search type "Image" to isolate media traffic
Video indexing report (GSC) flags pages where video was detected but not indexed, with reasons
Image search traffic is high-volume/low-intent for some niches and conversion gold for others (products, recipes) - judge per business

Next: Internal Linking - or continue to Technical SEO.